Cartons for frozen foods



Oct. 14, 1958 R. GUYER CARTONS FOR FROZEN FOODS Filed March 7, 1955 INVENTOK Reyna/0's Gaye/4 ATTORNEY formed.

United States Patent Ofiice 2,856,114 Patented Oct. 14, 1958 CARTONS FOR FROZEN FOODS Reynolds Guyer, St. Paul, Minn, assignor to Waldorf Paper Products Company, Ramsey County, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Application March 7, 1955, Serial No. 492,440

6 Claims. (Cl. 2214) This invention relates to an improvement in cartons and deals particularly with a carton useful in containing frozen foods and various other materials.

For some years cartons have been constructed including a tray-shaped body and a cover hingedly secured to the upper edge of one of the walls of the body. This cover is provided with flaps which lock into slots in the sides of the carton body and the carton corners are usually provided with flaps which lock into place as the carton is Many such cartons are provided with a rectangular liner sheet of cellophane or other such material. In order to cover the side walls of the carton the rectangular sheet also extends at least partially over the side flaps on the cover panel. As the cellophane is usually spot glued to the carton blank through the use of a machine which cuts the cellophane from a roll and applies it to the blank, it is not practical to die cut the cellophane so that it does not overlie the cover flaps. On the other hand, this portion of the cellophane interferes with the closing of the carton and complicates the tucking of the cover flaps into the slots in the carton body.

An object of the present invention lies in eliminating thi previous difilculty by applying to the carton blank two rectangular sheets'of cellophane or other such material. ()ne of these sheets is sufficiently wide to overlie the side walls of the carton so as to form a continuous liner therefor. The other sheet is narrower and is of proper size to extend over the cover panel to form a liner for this panel. The two sheets of cellophane are individually applied from different rolls.

A feature of the present invention lies in the provision of a carton having a tray-shaped body lined with a liner sheet of moisture impervious material such as cellophane or the like and in providing a narrower liner sheet to the cover panel so as to cover the under surface of this panel. Thus the entire interior of the carton is lined with the lining sheet and yet the lining sheet does not interfere with the closing of the cartons.

An added feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a carton having attached thereto two separate sheets of lining material, both of the sheets being rectangular in shape and the two sheets preferably slightly overlapping to form a continuous liner for the carton.

These and other objects and novel features of my invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification:

Figure l is a perspective view of the carton in closed position.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the carton in open position.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of the blank from which the carton is formed.

The carton blank is quite similar to that illustrated in my previous Patent No. 2,430,610. The carton includes a body portion which forms an open topped tray and one of the Walls of this tray is provided with a cover panel designed to fold down over the open top of the tray.

The carton includes a bottom panel 10 foldably connected along its front edge by a fold line 11 to a front wall panel 12. The bottom panel 10 is connected along a second fold line 13 to a rear wall panel 14. The rear wall panel is hingedly connected at its upper edge by a fold line 15 to a cover panel 16. The cover panel 16 is hingedly connected along a fold line 17 to a tuck flap 19.

End walls 20 and 21 are connected to the bottom panel 10 along parallel fold lines 22 and 23, respectively, which are at right angles to the fold lines 11 and 13. Locking flaps 24 and 25 are hingedly connected along extensions of the fold lines 22 and 23 to the front panel 12. Similar locking flaps 26 and 27 are hingedly connected along extensions of the fold lines 22 and 23 to the rear wall panel 14. Tuck flaps 29 and 30 are connected to the side edges of the top panel 16 along fold lines 31 and 32 which are substantially aligned with the fold lines 22 and 23.

If desired, projecting tabs 33 and 34 are foldably con nected to the upper edges of the locking flaps 24 and 25 along aligned fold lines 35 and 36. These tabs 33 and 34 are designed to support a projecting portion of the lining sheet in a manner which will be later described.

The end wall panels 20 and 21 are provided with slots 37 and 39 which are designed to accommodate the locking portions of the locking flaps and also the tuck flaps of the top panel. The locking flaps 24 and 26 are provided with hook-shaped projections 40 and 41 which are engageable in the slot 37. Locking flaps 2S and 27 are provided with hook-shaped locking projections 42 and 43 which are designed to engage in the slot 39. The hook-shaped projections hook into the ends of these slots for the purpose described.

The tuck flaps 29 and 30 are provided with projecting portions 44 and 45 which are designed to extend into the slots 37 and 3?, respectively, to hold the sides of the cover closed and the tuck flap 19 is provided with a projecting portion 46 having slits or notches 47 and 49 on opposite sides thereof. The projection 46 is designed to extend into a slot 50 in the front wall 12 to lock the cover closed. The slot Sit, similar to the slots 37 and 39, is provided with converging cut lines 51 and 52 at the ends of the slot so that the flaps may more readily enter the slots and to lock the locking projections in closed position.

A lining sheet 53 is applied to the body portion of the carton. This liner sheet 53 is rectangular in form and preferably extends the width of the blank so as to overlie the bottom panel 10 and to extend the full width or height of the end walls 2% and 21. This liner sheet 53 is spot glued to the blank along areas 54 near the corners of the bottom panel and extending along the side edges of the end panels 20 and 21. It is also usually adhered to the end walls 20 and 21 along areas 55 near the upper edges of the end walls. The liner is also adhered to the front wall 12 and to the locking flaps 24 and 25 connected thereto along areas of adhesive 56. These areas are on one side of a diagonal line extending outwardly from the corners of the bottom panel 10 so that the liner will form a triangular gusset fold between the outer surface of each end panel and the locking flap to which it is anchored. The liner sheet 53 is also secured to the rear wall 14 and to the locking flaps 2d and 27 connected thereto along an elongated area of adhesiVe 57, the portions of the adhesive area in the locking flaps 26 and 27 also being confined to a triangular area defined by a diagonal line extending from the corners of the bottom panel 10 so that this portion of the liner will also form a triangular gusset fold between the end panels and the locking flaps. The liner is also secured to the tabs 33 and 34 by adhesive areas 59.

A second liner sheet is secured to the top panel 16 along a marginal area of adhesive 61. Preferably the liner sheet 60 is slightly wider than the top panel and 32 and slightly beyond the fold line 17. The two liner sheets preferably overlap a short distance to form a continuous connection.

The carton is normally stored and shipped in fiat form as illustrated in Figure 3. The blank-s when used are usually fed into a carton forming machine which bends the side and end walls into right angular relation with the bottom panel and locks the locking flaps into the slots 37 and 39 of the end wall panels. The carton then appears as best illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings and is in readiness for filling.

After the filling operation the cartons usually pass through a closing machine which tucks the portion 62 of the liner 53 downwardly to overlie the carton contents and folds the tabs 33 and 34 downwardly over the liner portion 62. The cover panel 16 is folded over the top of the carton body and the tuck flaps 29 and 30 inserted into the slots 37 and 39 and the tuck flap 19 has its projecting end 2-6 tucked into the slot 50.

it will be seen that by the particular arrangement illustrated considerably less cellophane is employed than would be the case if the liner 53 were of sufficient length to extend over the cover panel 16. At the same time, there is no liner inwardly of the tuck flaps 29 and 30 to interfere with the insertion of the projecting portions 44 and 45 into the slots 37 and 39. This arrangement also makes possible the automatic application of the liner sheets to the carton blank by a machine which merely cuts rectangular portions from a continuous roll of lining material. In forming the carton the blank either passes by two separate liner applying elements which apply the sheets of different widths to the blank or the blanks may be fed through a single machine twice, a different liner being applied during each operation. The application of the two sheets by a single machine is, of course, preferred from a cost standpoint.

In accordance with the patent statutes, 1 have described the principles of construction and operation of my carton for frozen food, and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

l claim:

1. A carton blank including a bottom panel, front and rear wall panels hingedly connected to opposite edges thereof, a cover panel hingedly connected to one of said wall panels, and tuck flaps hingedly connected to the remaining three sides of the cover panel, end wall panels hingedly connected to the remaining opposed sides of said bottom panel and corner flaps hingedly connected to certain of said wall panels to overlap the remaining wall panels, said end wall panels and front wall panel including locking slits through which said tuck flaps may partially project, a liner sheet adhered to the bottom panel, the liner sheet being rectangular and overlying the side and end walls as well as the bottom panel, and a second lining sheet secured to the top panel, the second lining sheet being rectangular in shape and substantially narrower than the first mentioned lining sheet, said second lining sheet terminating short of the portions of said flaps which are projectable through said slots.

2. The construction described in claim 1 and including projecting tabs hingedly connected to certain of the corner flaps, the first liner sheet being secured to said projecting tabs.

3. A carton including a generally rectangular bottom panel, side wall panels foldably connected to two opposite edges of said bottom panel, end walls hingedly connected to the remaining edges of said bottom panel, flaps hingedly secured to said side wall. panels and folded into surface contact with said end wall panels, a first lining sheet of rectangular shape overlying said side and end wall panels, said bottom panel, and said corner flaps, said lining sheet being secured to the walls and fiaps which it overlies, a cover panel hingedly secured to one of said side wall panels, flaps hingedly secured to the remaining edges of said cover panel, and a second rectangular liner sheet secured to said top panel, said second liner sheet being substantially narrower than the first, said flaps being folded over said end walls and one side wall and attached thereto, said second liner sheet terminating short of these points of attachment.

4. The construction described in claim 3 and in which said liner sheet is substantially the size of said top panel.

5. The construction described in claim 4 and in which said second liner sheet extends slightly over the hinge lines connecting the cover panel to the flaps secured thereto.

6. The construction described in claim 3 and including tabs secured to the upper edges of two of said corner flaps which are hingedly connected to one of said side walls, the first liner sheet overlying said tabs.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS 928,586 Clark July 20, 1909 1,625,577 Stokes Apr. 19, 1927 2,142,342 Bensel Jan. 3, 1939 2,503,798 Buttery Apr. 11, 1950 2,516,624 Guyer July 25, 1950 

